How Did We Live? Slovakia in the 20th Century

It is being proven everyday that the history remains a hot topic in the Slovak society, topic of interest not only for the intellectuals and politicians but for the general public as well. The 20th century with its upheavals, catastrophes but also with an unprecedented civilization and social development has provided the foundation for the contemporary individual. For this reason the Slovak National Museum decided to prepare an up-to-date exhibition that aspires to contribute to the understanding of a century gone by. Its aim is also to stimulate deeper investigation and to enrich the museum's collection of documents, especially the three-dimensional evidence of this extremely important period of the Slovak national history. The visitor is not confronted with conclusive explanations, it wouldn’t serve its purpose in these times, not so distant from the many of the presented events. The Slovak National Museum tries in fact to offer a space for reflection, for recollection of historic episodes and for an eventual further discussion, not only among historians.

The aim of the "How Did We Live? Slovakia in the 20th Century" exhibition is to show the evolution of Slovakia, stressing the everyday life of its citizens. It is an imaginary “stroll” through the 20th century where the visitor can learn about a family life at the beginning of the century, about the way of life during the big urbanization of its second half and about the most noteworthy proofs of the Slovak cultural progress. The political development is not left aside.

The exhibition takes up an area of 1100 m2 and is chronologically divided into seven sections determined by the political events that shaped the Slovak history in the last century. The political transformations provide a background for learning about the many aspects of a given period. The visitor can walk into an old school or a shop, pass through the World War I trenches with shells exploding all around him or enjoy a peaceful household of a small-town Slovakia.

To demonstrate the historical development of a still reverberating century a great variety of museum artifacts were used, some of them belonging to the jewels in the depositories of Slovak museums. Beside the Historic Museum and other branches of the Slovak National Museum, other museums and galleries, specialized archives and public media have contributed with their documents and collectible items. Huge quantity of photographic and graphic material helps the visitor to feel the atmosphere of individual periods and, at the same time, to provide a rich informative substance. The most extensive audio-visual program ever presented in Slovakia so far, not only as far as the quantity and variety of the material are concerned but also in respect of its potential for further utilization.

Place: Slovak National Museum, Vajanskeho embankment 2
Duration of exhibition 15.2. - 30.10. 2008
Open daily 9.00 - 17.00

Science and Technology

"Science and Technology" exhibition is an accompanying exhibit of a bigger retrospective project How Did We Live? Slovakia in the 20th Century. The Science and Technology presents different objects of both daily life and professional spheres such as a car Śkoda 1000 MB or old types of radios, TV set or phones.